In dentistry, it is often necessary to isolate an area of a patient's mouth, such as around a tooth, or where a tooth should be. Such isolation serves to create a clean, dry area in which a dental procedure may be performed, provides a degree of protection to soft tissue, and protects the patient's airway from debris, components, and dental tools. This isolation can be achieved using the patient's teeth in combination with dental dams, which are well known in the art.
Typically, a dental dam is placed such that the tooth of interest is exposed through a perforation in an elastic sheet called a dam. A dental dam clamp is used to hold the dam in place during the dental treatment. Conventional dental dam clamps, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,063, employ a resilient connector between two jaws that clamp onto the tooth. The resilient connector extends away from the jaws and tooth. Conventional clamps are not effective in some situations, such as when the tooth needing isolation is so broken down to a point where the clamp has nothing to grip.
To isolate a broken down tooth, some conventional clamps can make use of a neighboring tooth, such as the clamp disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,566. However, the resilient connector or bias-providing element of such clamps is problematic when used to isolate a posterior edentulous area. In such cases, the resilient connector of the clamp either collides with the back of the mouth or obstructs access to the area, making it difficult or impossible to render the intended dental treatment. Furthermore, the dental treatments commonly rendered to an edentulous area, such as restoration or implant procedures, have a greater need for isolation and protection of the patient's airway due to the debris and components involved.